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All capuchin monkeys are clever¡­

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But capuchins in captivity show dazzling
feats of intelligence unheard of in the wild

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Why should this be?

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To solve this puzzle
we put capuchins to the test.

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The result may overturn everything
you thought you knew about monkeys.

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For their size, capuchins have
the largest brain of any monkey¡­

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and it never rests.

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They are great conquerors¡­

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the most widespread monkeys
in all the Americas

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The many varieties are all
inquisitive and resourceful.

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This is the most adaptable group
of primates on the planet.

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They forage where other monkeys fear to tread,

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from the water's edge¡­

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¡­to the open grassland.

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Sharp eyes, nimble fingers and a lively mind¡­

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even camouflaged prey has no chance.

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Capuchins are so successful because
they can find food anywhere

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- but it's the way they
find it that is the key.

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Most types of monkey eat a lot of fruit.

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But all differ in how they survive
when this staple runs out.

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Some turn to nuts or gum,
others to leaves¡­

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The Capuchins' solution?

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That huge brain helps them
to find things hidden from view¡­

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and hidden from other kinds of monkey.

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This is the secret of their success.

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Capuchins can imagine what might
be hiding behind a palm frond

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¡­ or lurking down a hole.

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For them, out of sight,
is never out of mind¡­

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A large brain can memorise
all the best hunting locations...

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¡­and the ability to
recall a previous experience

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could make the difference
between getting stung¡­

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and getting honey.

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Some days there's barely a moment to rest.

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The mental alarm clock is ringing¡­

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it's time to be somewhere else¡­

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Being brainy allows you to schedule your day¡­

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¡­the monkeys are arriving in the mangrove,

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just as the tide is falling.

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The dropping water exposes shellfish.

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Collecting clams would seem the easy part.

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They are certainly full of meat,

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but it's all locked up behind closed doors.

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Perhaps grasping hands guided by
a big brain can solve the problem.

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The trick is to bang the clam hard and often.

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Eventually the muscle inside will relax,

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and the shell can be opened.

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At least 20 capuchins are now
putting this theory to the test.

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Ten minutes on and the clams
are still holding it together.

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This is hardly 'fast food'!

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The young watch avidly and most will learn.

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Although it takes perseverance
and foresight to open clams,

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hitting shellfish against a branch needs
good technique rather than great intelligence.

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Even so, some monkeys never really
get to grips with clam cracking!

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For those that persevere
with a good technique,

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the clams are starting to yield,

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and rewards are being claimed¡­

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¡­although a few fall short of expectation.

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Opening clams is good problem solving,

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but it hints at a greater potential.

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Capuchins in South Carolina
are helping scientists

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explore the limits of monkey intelligence.

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This honey has no stinging bees...

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but researcher, Ted Evans,
will add some obstacles of his own.

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First, a tough plastic sheet
is used to seal the top of the tube.

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This is lowered into a stronger tube
that is taller and harder to reach into.

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Four tools are available:

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a rock, a wooden block,

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a leafy twig and some building bricks

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- but it's rather unclear
how any of these will help.

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Vulcan takes up the challenge...

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He's done this test before,

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but no one taught him how to do it.

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It's hard to see how banging
two rocks together will help,

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but Vulcan's determination
suggests he has a plan.

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A flint knife!

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Vulcan has transformed the rock
into a cutting tool!

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The first piece isn't sharp
enough to cut the plastic ¡­

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so he tries another with a keener edge.

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This is not easy!

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At last! The seal is broken

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- but the honey is still out of reach.

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Vulcan switches to the branch
and begins stage two.

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He's stripping away way
the leaves and the bark¡­

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to make a probe.

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Finally, he can reach the honey.

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This goes way beyond 'banging a clam'.

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This is true tool use -

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the holy grail of intelligence research.

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What's more, combining
different tools in sequence

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is tool-use of a most sophisticated kind.

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Sceptics might claim that Vulcan
has been trained to do this

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and has no real understanding of the task.

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To test this, the experiment is repeated,

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but coloured chips are used
to represent the tools.

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The black chip buys a rock,

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the yellow a twig, and so on.

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Black - that's the rock.

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With the tool he requested,
Vulcan goes to work on the plastic seal.

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Now he'll need the twig, which is yellow.

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A brick is not what Vulcan asked for!

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That's better!

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Not only is Vulcan entirely self-taught

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but, no matter what the task,

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he knows exactly which tools are required

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and precisely the order in which to use them.

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Most of Ted's monkeys use tools,

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but some catch on quicker than others.

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Of course, many tools don't exist in the wild,

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but capuchins are great improvisers.

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Costa Rica in the dry season

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and monkeys are searching
for drinking water in tree-holes

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¡­ but these can be very deep
and the water hard to reach.

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The smartest monkeys know that
tails make the best sponges.

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As the forest dries it becomes
harder to find food in the treetops.

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The best hunting grounds now
border the rapidly drying rivers.

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The water itself is too stagnant
to drink but the bank side is lush,

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and for a monkey as curious
and canny as a capuchin,

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there are all kinds of dining opportunities.

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This monkey's ability to eek out a meal
from the most unlikely nook or cranny

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can be a life saver ¡­

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¡­ on the other hand,

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their inquisitive nature constantly
gets them into trouble.

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Snakebite is a common cause
of death among capuchins.

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The hysteria is contagious,
but it won't last.

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This snake is perfectly harmless.

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Most youngsters learn to identify predators
correctly before they're adults,

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and those that don't, start to be
ignored by the rest of the troop!

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Capuchins are smart enough to work out which
of their fellows give reliable alarm calls,

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and which can't be trusted!

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Throughout their extensive range
capuchins need to be ever alert.

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There's no mistaking this predator.

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Jaguars are always on the lookout
for bite-sized monkeys

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that have strayed on to the forest floor.

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This call means 'cat'.

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Monkeys heed this alarm without hesitation.

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No monkey is a match for a jaguar.

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But the rapid retreat is not
what it first appears¡­

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It seems that the capuchins
climbed the cliff to arm themselves.

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Even when the cat appears to have fled,

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the monkeys take no chances.

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There's no doubt that brains
really can beat brawn.

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It's extraordinary what
a small monkey can achieve

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through creative use of its surroundings,

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and not just against predators.

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These forests have a wealth of resources

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and capuchins have found some
very novel ways of using them.

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When in season, oranges are seized
with great enthusiasm.

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The monkeys peel their skin but,
curiously, don't eat them.

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Instead, they spread citrus juice
through their fur,

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which sets off a frenzy
of rubbing and drooling.

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A large orange is hard to share

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so disagreements are rather common.

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This is clearly good fun,

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but could there be another reason for it?

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A different plant may shed
light on the behaviour.

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Piper leaves are rarer than oranges
and even more sought after.

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But the reason for their use
is better understood.

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This plant is considered medicinal
by the local people,

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who apply it to their skin
to repel insects and disinfect wounds.

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We can only assume that
capuchins do the same,

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and this is also why they use oranges.

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Whatever the reason,
the plant is passed around

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and everyone joins the party.

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Such good-natured sharing
is extremely rare in monkeys

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so could an affinity for co-operation be
another reason for the capuchin's success?

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This theory is being put to
the test back in Carolina ¡­

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A pot of hazelnuts... and the flint
that's needed to open the lid.

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You need both to get a nut,

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but they are separated by a see-thru barrier.

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Vulcan has the rock,

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but can't reach the nuts.

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Virgil has the nuts but knows
he can't eat them without a rock.

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Vulcan quickly offers the tool.

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He must hope Virgil is
smart enough to open the lid

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and fair enough to cut him in on the spoils.

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Virgil is struggling;

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he doesn't have his friend's skill.

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And Vulcan is getting impatient.

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The flint is finally through the lid,

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but can Virgil be trusted to share the nuts?

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With Vulcan out of reach,
it must be tempting to take the lot!

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Three nuts ¡­ a fair share!

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Vulcan and Virgil have used
teamwork to beat the system,

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but can capuchins really
have a sense of fair play?

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Ted gives Vulcan a white chip,
which can be exchanged for food

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- in this case, a dried biscuit.

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An identical token for Virgil

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but in return he gets a juicy grape
- a far better exchange.

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Virgil's back for seconds,

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but this time Vulcan sees him get the grape.

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He now expects one too.

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Biscuit? That's not fair!

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Virgil's back again¡­

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¡­another grape!

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Vulcan is losing his composure ¡­

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This injustice is too much!

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He was happy with biscuit, but
that was before Virgil got grapes.

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Now he'd sooner have nothing
than be short-changed.

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It's a point of principal.

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Virgil returns, so Vulcan suspects
Ted of readying another grape.

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It must be in there somewhere.

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At last - a succulent grape.

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Vulcan and his friends show us
that capuchins understand justice,

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display extraordinary feats of co-operation,

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and are perhaps the best tool users
in the Animal Kingdom.

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So why do capuchins in the wild never seem
to show these levels of intelligence?

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Perhaps we haven't been looking
in the right place ¡­

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This is the Green Wing Valley in Brazil,

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and what has just been found here
is rocking the scientific world.

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The discovery was made among
the magnificent cathedral-like rocks

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that rise out of the jungle.

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Giant stone anvils litter the forest.

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They look like they could
only have been made by humans

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¡­ but they have not.

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Capuchin monkeys bring nuts from miles
around to these anvils for cracking.

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We've seen these monkeys
using tools in captivity,

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but this is the first time
it's ever been seen in the wild.

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We knew these monkeys had the potential¡­

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this could start to make sense
of the 'capuchin enigma'.

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To watch wild monkeys wielding
a hammer is a remarkable sight,

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but the full story is truly incredible.

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Elsewhere in the valley
another troop is on the search¡­

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This is the harvesting site
several kilometres from the anvil.

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Fresh palm nuts¡­

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tapping will reveal the ripest ones.

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These are slightly easier to pluck ¡­

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but they still aren't ready to eat.

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The first stage is to peel away the fibrous husk.

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This exposes the nut to the elements
and accelerates the ripening process.

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Next, the nuts are dropped to the
ground where they mature in the sun.

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They take many days to fully ripen

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¡­ however the ground is littered with other nuts

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that the monkeys prepared on previous visits,

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and these are now tested for readiness.

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Those that sound right are collected

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and transported several kilometres
through the forest to the anvil.

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As long as they prepare a few nuts every
time they come to harvest the ripe ones,

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return trips will always provide nuts
ready for cracking.

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A triumph of planning and foresight.

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But the best is yet to come.

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The hammers are polished and look
nothing like other rocks from the area.

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Despite weighing more than a capuchin,

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they have somehow carried them here
from the river,

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several kilometres in the other direction.

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There is more to using these tools
than first meets the eye.

246
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,950
Not only must you choose the right hammer

247
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,950
- for each is best with a certain kind of nut

248
00:26:26,300 --> 00:26:31,250
but you must correctly position
your nut in one of the slots on the anvil.

249
00:26:33,300 --> 00:26:36,150
Different 'sockets' suit different nuts.

250
00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:40,750
The correct choice makes the difference
between success and failure¡­

251
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,050
Begging for nuts is rarely successful,

252
00:26:54,500 --> 00:26:59,050
but at least being beside
the anvil is the best way to learn.

253
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,950
As usual, every monkey has
its own style of doing things...

254
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,250
but nut on nut is never going to work.

255
00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:13,350
Even the slower monkeys eventually learn

256
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:18,550
and the technique is passed down
from generation to generation.

257
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:21,150
From the wear on the anvils

258
00:27:21,200 --> 00:27:25,250
it's clear this has been happening
here for hundreds of years.

259
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,650
It seems like a lot of effort for very little nut.

260
00:27:31,700 --> 00:27:34,050
But few other foods are available.

261
00:27:34,100 --> 00:27:36,550
It's only the ability to crack nuts

262
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,950
that allows these monkeys to live here.

263
00:27:39,700 --> 00:27:41,850
This is a vital clue.

264
00:27:47,700 --> 00:27:50,699
Captive monkeys seem so intelligent

265
00:27:50,700 --> 00:27:53,950
because we challenge them
with problems and tasks.

266
00:27:54,900 --> 00:27:57,650
A natural environment that does the same,

267
00:27:57,700 --> 00:28:02,250
forces them to use mental reserves
that all capuchins must have.

268
00:28:04,100 --> 00:28:07,850
This discovery is the missing part
of 'the monkey puzzle'

269
00:28:07,900 --> 00:28:09,850
we thought we may never find.

270
00:28:10,100 --> 00:28:13,950
We have underestimated our monkey cousins

271
00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:53,250
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